Lord Robathan Portrait

Lord Robathan

Conservative - Life peer

Became Member: 13th October 2015


Lord Robathan is not a member of any APPGs
10 Former APPG memberships
Belize, British Virgin Islands, China, Cycling and Walking, Falkland Islands, Finland, Indonesia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine
National Security Strategy (Joint Committee)
31st Jan 2023 - 30th May 2024
International Agreements Committee
23rd Apr 2020 - 19th Jan 2022
EU Internal Market Sub-Committee
5th Jun 2018 - 23rd Apr 2020
Trade Union Political Funds and Political Party Funding Committee
28th Jan 2016 - 29th Feb 2016
Statutory Instruments (Select Committee)
3rd Nov 2014 - 30th Mar 2015
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
3rd Nov 2014 - 30th Mar 2015
Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
7th Oct 2013 - 15th Jul 2014
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
6th Sep 2012 - 7th Oct 2013
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
17th May 2010 - 6th Sep 2012
Armed Forces Bill Committee
17th Jan 2011 - 8th Mar 2011
Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Commons)
10th Dec 2005 - 6th May 2010
Administration Committee
14th Dec 2005 - 12th Jul 2007
Shadow Minister (Defence)
1st Jul 2004 - 10th Dec 2005
International Development Committee
8th Dec 2003 - 8th Nov 2004
Shadow Minister (International Development)
1st Jun 2003 - 30th Oct 2003
Shadow Spokesperson (Trade and Industry)
1st Jun 2002 - 1st Jun 2003
International Development Committee
14th Jul 1997 - 19th Nov 2002


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord Robathan has voted in 63 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Lord Robathan Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Khan of Burnley (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
(12 debate interactions)
Lord Pickles (Conservative)
(6 debate interactions)
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(5 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Ministry of Defence
(4 debate contributions)
Department for Transport
(3 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Holocaust Memorial Bill 2022-23
(3,320 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Lord Robathan's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Robathan, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Lord Robathan has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Lord Robathan has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 8 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
2 Other Department Questions
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the estimated cost of the fencing planned for the front of Parliament along Abingdon Street and what is the market cost of fencing of the same specification.

The Abingdon fence installation was competitively procured by both Houses of Parliament through parliament’s framework supply-chain and benchmarked against other fencing projects within Parliament. For security reasons, the Houses do not publish capital expenditure on security mitigating projects as providing this level of detail could enable an individual to infer the extent and nature of the works, and thus the vulnerabilities which they were intended to mitigate.

11th Mar 2025
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the salary of the Director of Security for Parliament.

The Director of Security for Parliament is a bicameral role, but for administrative purposes is employed by the House of Commons. The salary of the Director of Security is published alongside other Commons Executive Board members in the annual accounts of the House of Commons. In 2023-24 the salary and benefits in kind of the Director of Security were £140-145,000.

11th Nov 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many vehicles of the Government Car Service were available for ministerial use on 11 November in (1) 2016, (2) 2023, and (3) 2024.

The number of Government Car Service (GCS) vehicles allocated for Ministerial use on the 11th November for the specified years is:

  1. 2016: 87

  2. 2023: 114

  3. 2024: 122

Baroness Twycross
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
26th Feb 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any restrictions being put in place to prevent Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles from accessing any critical infrastructure.

The Government takes national security extremely seriously and the Department works closely with the transport sector and other agencies such as the National Protective Security Authority and the National Cyber Security Centre to respond to any security vulnerabilities.  This includes ensuring critical infrastructure is secure and resilient, and risks are managed proportionately.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
10th Dec 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks relating to the glare of LED headlamps; whether they have been identified as a contributing factor to road accidents at night; and what steps they plan to take, if any, to mitigate these risks.

National collision statistics, which can record headlamp dazzle as a contributory factor, do not show any discernible trend to suggest that advances in lighting technology are contributing negatively to road vehicle collisions.

However, noting increased public concern, Government has commissioned independent research to better understand the root causes of headlamp glare and develop potential countermeasures. The work is underway and is due to deliver in summer 2025.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
6th Mar 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any restrictions on the movement of Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles onto Ministry of Defence barracks or training areas.

The Ministry of Defence takes the security of defence assets very seriously, and is working with other Government Departments to understand and mitigate any potential threats to national security from vehicles. Our policies and procedures take account of the potential threats from all types of vehicle, not just those manufactured in China, and we have issued appropriate internal direction to all drivers and passengers.

There are no centrally mandated policy restrictions on the movement of Chinese manufactured vehicles. We are aware that individual defence organisations may have stricter requirements relating to electric vehicles on some sites, but we do not provide specific details for security reasons.

Lord Coaker
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
30th Oct 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what provisions they are making for the red-listed category of cavity nesting birds which are reliant on buildings for suitable nesting cavities; and whether they intends to mandate the provision of swift bricks in new building projects.

The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to help birds reliant on buildings to breed, including how to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
10th Dec 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions of vehicles illegally in cycle boxes (advanced stop lines) there have been in (1) the UK, and (2) the Metropolitan Police jurisdiction.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions at criminal courts in England and Wales between 2010 and June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: June 2024.

However, prosecutions for vehicles illegally in cycle boxes (advanced stop lines) cannot be separately identified from the broader offence of ‘failing to comply with traffic lights, signals or signs’ in the Court Proceedings database.

Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)